


Wonders

by blairebrink



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Fighting towards end, Kidnapped, Love, Princess - Freeform, Relationship(s), Romance, Sad, harry styles bad boy, kingdom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-15 07:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1296685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blairebrink/pseuds/blairebrink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lilipahes is the one of the prettiest kingdom's in the whole Enoch Realm. Each kingdom had a king, queen, prince and princess. Some of the king's had the horrible job of finding a prince to marry their daughters. Just as Lilia's father found her the "perfect" prince to wed. In a turn of events Lilia is taken away from her cart and is found with a situation involving three other men.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Wishing on a star was not something princesses do but I did not care, I liked watching the star fall and I loved the feeling of hope when I wished for something like a pony or for the flowers to bloom in the garden. It was all in good fun, sometimes I would wish to be able to see the outside of the castle walls, it would be amazing to be able climb down the ropes that connected the clouds to the below but I knew that would never happen. My parents would never let me down there, they feared something bad would happen to me or that I would speak to a scum bag as they called them. With one last glance at the sky I made a silent wish to be able to see the land under my home and closed the curtains.

The room seemed to get darker and I couldn't help but smile at nothing. I really liked the way that the shadows would be visible in the night, Nix's body was moving slowly and I could tell she was having a peaceful dream. I pulled the blankets and put them over myself resting my head on the pillow lightly. 

Even from my room I could hear the maids downstairs cleaning the tables and setting the table for tomorrow morning. The butlers leaning against the walls listening to their watch tic as they counted the hours till they had to wake me up. I could hear the knights armor as they walked around outside, stomping their feet on the grass to make the effort to scare off the people that tried to climb the ropes and steal our things. I sighed in defeat and buried my face back into my pillow in hope to drown out the noises of the outside world, just like I've been doing for the past nineteen years. 

“Princess!” Someone called from outside, rubbing my eyes I finally realized that it was just a dream. Stretching my limbs and sitting up I called back to the butler that it was okay and that the maids could come in. Two thin woman walked into my room with pure grace, one had long brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and her body structure was that of a model, she was tall and skinny. Her name was Lily, her parents named her after the kingdom and raised her inside of the castle until she could work. The other one was blonde and her hair was already going white, she was one of the oldest maids in the whole castle, she was also Lily’s mom. Miriam had been in this castle since my parents were prince and princess. Everyone called her Mimi, it was a name given out of pure love. Both of them filled by bath and took out my clothes no matter how much I insisted that I had two arms that were functional, but they just said that it was their job and they were happy to do it. In an hour or so I was already dressed in a blue dress that looked like it was made for a special occasion, it reached my ankles and was decorated with tiny white flowers that resembled the lilies that grew in mom’s garden. 

“Oh, you look lovely.” Mimi gushed pulling on the bottom of the dress and fixing the ruffles. I just blushed at her compliment and brushed her away claiming how okay I was. 

“Did you take your medicine princess?” Lily asked quietly looking at my bed side table. The glass bottle laid untouched and full of small white tablets. Shaking my head I waited for the scold that Mimi had in hold.

“Princess you know those medications are keeping you healthy you need to take them every day because if you don’t…” The look in her eyes made me want to curl up in a ball in the corner of the room. She gently pressed her hand to my cheek. “Lilia we don’t want to lose you. You’re the princess no one in this kingdom wants you to die and those medications are keeping you alive so please drink them.” I sighed in defeat and grabbed the bottle, twisting it open and drinking the three tablets inside. Mimi smiled at me and put the white sandals in front of my feet before stepping back.

“What’s the occasion?” I asked, drinking the water Lily had brought in. Both maids looked at each other and then back towards me. 

“There seems to be someone coming here. We don’t know who we were just asked to get you ready.” The brunette explained, motioning to my dress. I sighed and nodded stepping forward and holding my head up high and composing my body like my mom had taught me. Mimi and Lily stepped back and waited for the bell that summoned them back to the kitchen. I stepped outside and walked downstairs to the table just to be faced with a dirty, smelly man. He had his head down and his curly hair was moving as he breathed in and out. His shirt that I suppose was white at some point was now full of what I though was dirt, his pants full of cuts and poorly patched.

“Pardon us princess.” The knights gushed pulling the man away from me. I held up my hand to stop them and kneeled to the man’s level, gently raising his head. “Princes-.” I cut them off moving my hand up and putting it over my lips to silence them.

“Can you hear me?” I asked the man, pulling the tissue out of my shoe and cleaned his face. His eyes snapped open and he leaned forward making me fall back on my bum. 

“Princess!” The knight on the right raised his hand to hit the man but I gently pressed mine over his arm.

“It is okay, I frightened him don’t hurt him.” He slowly lowered his hands and nodded slowly stepping back. “What did he do? What caused him to end up in our dungeon?” 

“He stole from one of the visitors while they were on the elevator. Almost hurt the prince.” The knight on the left explained. 

“Bull, the poor excuse for a man jumped out of his skin when he saw me.” The prisoner spat shaking the shackles that kept him tied. “Acted like a little posh little bit-.” The officer to my right slapped the man straight across the face making it move all the way. The sound sent a sickening chill through my spine and caused me to step back. The man make a tsk sound and looked me dead in the eye. “My, my you sure are a lot like they describe you princess Lilia, hot and it looks like you've never been touched-.” Again another hand hit his face and both the guards grabbed his arms roughly and pulled him to the dungeon. I stood in shock and blushing like a princess should never blush. Stomping my foot and shaking the blush from my face I made my way to the table where my mom and dad sat with another couple. 

“Ah, Lilia you have arrived.” My father’s deep voice echoed through the dinner table, I nodded and curtsied at him and the other man. They motioned for me to sit down which I did since the shoes were killing me. The rest of the table sat down, the chatter was not as interesting as other times, they spoke about the economy and about how the trees growing in the below were gorgeous and blooming at this time of the year. “So the reason we brought you here Lilia was to talk about a very special occasion.” 

“Yes father?” I placed the knife and fork in a cross shape to let the maids know that I had finished eating and rested my hands on my lap.

“The kingdom of Gilliam has agreed to sign a peace treaty with us…” That sounded wonderful actually, they had a good army and their warriors were the best at keeping the people from Below away from their castle. “But you will have to marry the son of King Finn, the prince Liam.” My pupils might have gotten smaller but I wouldn't know. I gripped the cloth of my dress tightly between my fingers and nodded slowly.

“Yes sir.” My father nodded smiling as if he were the happiest man in the world. I was trying to stop the shaking of my body as the man seated next to King Finn smiled at me. He had brown hair that looked dirty and a crooked smile plastered on his face. His brown eyes seemed to be looking at every inch of my body that was visible over the table. 

“Amazing.” My mother clapped her hands together in glee and walked over kissed the top of my head. “I am so glad you accepted.” Like I had a choice. “This is exiting! I will set up your drive to the Sophos kingdom tomorrow morning.” I gave her the happiest face I could muster. 

The rest of the breakfast was filled of obnoxious talking from the queen’s part and talk of war from my father and the king’s part. I just sat in my chair moving the food from side to side, it tasted good but my stomach didn't want to welcome any of the tasty pancakes that the chefs had worked so hard on. The breakfast was dismissed when my father grabbed the prince’s shoulder and pulled him away to the porch to talk about the marriage and my mother sat down in the porch chairs with the king and queen to talk about how I would dress. I took the chance and ran back to the backside of the castle. I kicked off my shoes and stepped into the Garden of Liliaphes. It was my mother’s she planted most of the trees and flowers here when she was a child, I kept on putting new ones here and there but the place was absolutely beautiful. I ran my fingers over the trees and breathed in the smell of roses and lilies. 

“You look like your mother.” I turned to the voice just to be faced with Mimi. She stood straight in her ironed uniform, her smile was small and seemed to be getting smaller by the second. “She came out here all the time, said she wanted to be free and to roam all the Below. You are just like her, beautiful, graceful and so kind.”

“Mimi…” The smile that she held was worth a thousand gems. I walked over and hugged her tightly. “I don’t want to do this.” I whispered into her shoulder, she held me tight.

“I know sweetheart, the man doesn't look like a charmer, a bit goofy looking.” I laughed sadly and nodded. “’You’ll get used to him, get to know him, learn his dislikes or likes, take a book about that kingdom on for the trip. It won’t take long maybe a day or three it all depends on what road you take.” I didn't even want to answer since I was so drained of emotion, that marriage took a lot from me. And it wasn't even noon yet and I was already exhausted. Nix came running towards me barking in glee, she licked my face and went back to being on all fours. I kneeled to her level, rubbing her neck and kissing her head. She barked happily and licked my face again. Mimi patted my head gently and smiled softly. “It’ll all work out in the end, it always does for good people. Once you get anointed as queen I hope I am there to smile and watch as they out the crown on your head.”  
She placed a soft kiss on my forehead and moved a lock of hair away from my face. “Thank you so much Mimi.” I whispered, smiling back at her. With one last smile she walked back into the castle fixing her blue skirt and beginning to walk with pure poise once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Lunch once again brought the topic of the arranged marriage and how beautiful the wedding would turn out being. I just faked a smile and agreed to everything they said, mother talked about how my dress would be pure white and how she could use flowers from her garden, father exclaimed that all the royals from Enoch would be present to witness such an event. Prince Liam seemed to be doing the same as me, he nodded and smiled kindly each minute he was asked a question. It went by faster than breakfast thank whoever was up there.  
Finally once that was over the other royal family left back to their kingdom by their personal cart which went about eight times faster than my own family one. I went up to my room for teachings which was three hours of sitting in a chair with my legs crossed left on top of right in the most posh manner with a teacher explaining how a princess would act. She would tell me how to properly sit at a table, how to grab a fork and knife without acting like a man, how to read, how to write, how to properly hold my skirt up when I walked, how to dance, how to act around a man and how to properly love a man. All the things I had been learning were centered on making a man happy, any man, my father with the way I talked and acted, my future husband with the way I would learn how to love him and behave around his friends. 

It drove me crazy but as a lady there was nothing I could do. By the time it was dinner I had lost my hunger and decided to excuse myself and go back to the garden with Phoebe and Nix for some fresh air. It was already dawn so you could see the stars starting to shine in the sky. I counted some with Phoebe, she giggled and counted, well tried to count. Even at her age she didn't know how to count over twenty. I smiled at her and laid back on the grass with her, Nix was sprawled next to us stretching her hind legs and letting out a short bark. I rubbed her back and closed my eyes wishing on the last falling star I saw. “Please don’t let me marry that freak.” I mumbled. When I opened my eyes again Phoebe was shaking my arm and almost crying. 

“Lilia wake up!” She pleaded, pulling me to my feet. I looked around disoriented and saw a shadow climbing up the castle wall followed by the torches of the warriors. Phoebe pulled me into the castle just before the doors were locked. Nix was barking inside running up towards my room, and Phoebe was pulling me upstairs. 

“What is going on Phoebe?” I asked, closing the door behind me and leaning on the window. The commotion had settled down and the shouting had ceased. Phoebe was shaking like a leaf next to me. “Phoebe what happened out there?” 

“One of the dungeon prisoners escaped and was trying to get down to below. I had never seen the kingdom in such a mess.” Her voice was shaking, I presses my hand to her arm and stroked it gently. 

“It’s okay we’re okay Phoebe.” She nodded and walked to the door slowly. 

“Goodnight princess… remember to drink your medication.” She mumbled before closing the door behind her, I nodded at her and looked around the large room that felt so empty now. In a corner a bag laid full of clothes, I stared at it for a bit longer then back at the medicine, it sat there in the same glass bottle as the one in the morning. I shook my head and stood up grabbing my night gown from the counter. Slipping out of that blue dress was probably the best thing I had done all day. The silk piece felt amazing over my skin and I couldn't wait to just lay down and feel the cozy. I jumped back on the bed and closed my eyes once again dreaming of the pouncing white wolf. The next morning brought breakfast in bed which was unusual and my parents giving me the option to leave in my night gown which I gladly took. 

“Oh Lilia I am so happy that you’re doing this.” My mother gushed, hugging me tightly and leaving kisses on my forehead. My father nodded and hugged me tightly. 

“Be safe daughter.” He muttered, letting go the smallest of smiles. I just nodded and drowsily made my way to the cart. Phoebe and Mimi ran out yelling my name making me look back at them they both hugged me tightly and took a step back to look at me. 

“Oh sweetie you are going to be okay.” Mimi smiled, giving me a small bag full of roses. Phoebe put Nix inside of the cart and kisses my head. 

“We love you Lilia.” She grinned opening the door for me. I blew them a kiss and nodded. 

“I love you guys too.” I whispered blowing them a kiss and closing the door behind me. Nix climbed onto my lap and curled up into a ball falling asleep. I rested my head on the door and waited for the long trip that awaited. 

Minutes into it I could hear the drivers deep voice, he kept grumbling about how the below was the so dirty. I gently raised the curtain and looked outside. People were walking down the streets with tattered clothes like the man who was brought into the castle, woman carried large vases on their heads that seemed to be full of water. A man inside of a shop chopped the head of a squirming chicken, I flinched away from that few and looked to the other size. Two kids ran around the streets barefoot and covered in dirt. I smiled at them from the inside thinking that they couldn't see me. Of course they did and waved back at me smiling even though they were missing some teeth. I quickly hid back between the curtains and stroked Nix soft fur gently.  
“It looks interesting here ah?” This was one of the times I wished dogs could talk, as if she had understood me Nix nodded and barked in agreement. I once again peaked out the window to see what the people were doing. They didn't look that bad, the stories described them as treacherous, skin eating monsters but they didn't look to different from me. A girl was skipping on the street with a small rat looking creature on her shoulder. It was leaning on her like it wasn't some sort of sewer creature. She seemed to be happy that he was on her shoulder, which was definitely not something you saw in the castle, rats were terrifying creatures. Looking around everyone had some sort of animal close to them, some had small dogs, parrots, kittens, one little boy was holding a lizard which I found extremely terrifying. I rested my head on the chair and sprawled my legs out in a very UN ladylike manner. Closing my eyes and letting the sound of the people bring me to a peaceful sleep. 

It was surprisingly hot in the cart all of the sudden, I had been sleeping for a few hours now, my head was still drowsy but I could feel the heat surrounding me. Ignoring the sleepiness that still clouded my mind I forced my eyes open. Yellow and orange flames crossed my vision causing me to gasp and press my body against the door. Nix was barking and kicking the door to my left harshly before it finally gave away. I followed her out grabbing only one of the three bags Mimi had packed for me. Nix looked around desperately before taking off to a corner where I followed, around the cart I could hear the screams of the guards that were driving along with the sound of what I imagined were bandits. They were screaming curses and other fowl words I did not want to think of. I followed my dog towards the trees that surrounded us, they were big and cast shadows that could cover half of the kingdom. Stumbling and tripping we finally made it to what I assumed was a house. Bottles littered the porch and men passed out sat on the chairs, others weren't so lucky and laid in a spread eagle on the floor. I carefully made my way to the door trying to keep Nix from stepping on the sleeping men, the walls were shaking and from the inside I could hear the music from the inside and it didn't sound anything like the type they had inside of the castle. I pushed the door open and motioned my dog to stay put, inside it smelled like rotten flowers and alcohol. Men were ogling the ladies who worked behind the bar, others were shouting at each other holding bottles full of a yellowish content. I quietly made my way to one of the ladies and grabbed her hand. 

“Excuse me but where am I?” I asked quietly, the men were starting to throw punches at each other and I could not me more terrified. 

“Oh this is the May. You know the bar outside of town, princess haven’t you been out of your house?” I flinched at her nickname for me and hoped it was only a joke. 

“Oh, silly me how could I forget about this place, how far away would town be?” 

“Maybe an hour to two by cart, five by foot.” She grabbed my cheeks with her dirty hands. “My, my haven’t you had any sun recently?” I quickly shook my head and pulled away from her hands. 

“I must go, my people should be looking for me at any moment.” She seemed to be confused but shrugged me off either not understanding or not caring enough to pay attention. I turned on my heel and made my way back outside. It didn't even take me five minutes before I bumped into someone. The man was the size of three knights put together, he had a long beard that seemed to be decorated with the tops of bottles and bits of food (expired?). His face was hidden under layers of what I hope was dirt, he sent me a grin that made me sick to my stomach. He grabbed my arm and chuckled. 

“Well what are you doing here honey? Shouldn't you be home cleaning a man’s kitchen?” I tried to get my arm away from his grip but it was no use. The man had the strength needed to hold me back. 

“Oh I just came here by mistake, now if you could be so kind could you let me go?” He seemed to take in every word I said because he understood what I said, but instead of letting go he roared with laughter and dragged me out the door. I tried to yell for help but the rest of the men were entertaining themselves with the music, alcohol and woman in the place.  
He kept walking as if he wasn't even carrying me. I decided that he would get bored of me if I didn't seem interested to I just went limp in his grip and let him drag me. That idea clearly did not work because he pressed my body against a wall and tried to kiss me. I was not going to let this happen to I kept moving my head, kicking my legs and throwing aimless punches at him. That clearly made him angry because he slapped me hard across the face. My head moved all the way and my neck gave a strange cracking sound that I did not want to hear again. He let me go after that one and his hand tugged at the string of his pants. 

“NO!” I didn't even recognize my voice, her chuckled again and knelt down in front of me. I kept squirming, holding my cheek that seemed to be on fire, and trying to kick some dirt. He was getting tired of me trying to run away I could tell. He grabbed the front of my night gown and pulled me against the wall, this time it wasn't soft, my head came in contact with the wood harshly causing me to yell in pain. He only chuckled, my vision was getting fuzzy and I could barely focus on his face. 

“Now will you be willing to have me?” It wasn't a question, he left disgusting kisses down my neck that made me want to throw up. I closed my eyes hoping that the hit was enough to make me go unconscious. 

“Hey!” The voice didn't come from him so I was even more confused than before. The man sighed gruffly and turned back to yell at the voice but never got the chance. A fist hit him across the face causing him to let me go and fall to the floor. My head came in contact with something hard causing me to groan and close my eyes. I could hear both of them yelling at each other but my brain hurt too much to process what they were saying. Around me it all started to get blurry again and before I knew what was happening my eyes shut and the darkness took me in.


	3. Chapter 3

“Where did you find her?” A man’s voice asked, my head hurt like crazy so I decided against opening my eyes. 

“Down by May’s. Some asshole was going to take her outside and she looked to clean to be let.” Another answered. Forcing my body to work I opened my right eye slightly, three men stood up in the other side of the barn? I think it was a barn it looked like the ones in the books, they were all talking and pacing. I looked around to see what was close to me and saw a shimmering object, slowly and making sure the men didn’t notice I reached out and grabbed it. The thing had a handle so it didn’t slip from my grip, gently I pulled it closer and examined it, a knife. 

“Did you hear that?” One of them asked. Quickly I closed my eyes and put my hand under my body hiding the object. I could feel their gazes on me but yeas of pretending prepared me for this. 

“Huh, maybe she moved in her sleep.” 

“So what do you suppose we do with her?” 

“We could all have a go, she looks like fun.” The sound of a slap shut him up. He whimpered quietly. “No need to hit boss.” 

“You’re not going to have sex with her idiot, besides finder’s keepers.” The rest of the men made a tsk noise and I could tell they were rolling their eyes. “Hmm you look shiny and new.” His hand came in contact with my cheek causing me to shudder. I needed to get out of here. He then began to run his hands down my stomach that caused me to suck in a breath, I waited for him to touch my belly button, that’s when I pulled my knee up and hit him in the safe. I could tell it hurt by his groans. I jumped off the makeshift bed and ran to the door, before I could get there one of the men grabbed my arm. I turned to face him holding up the knife. 

“Do not touch me!” I shrieked, it came out less intimidating than I hoped. I was shaking like crazy and the knife was about to fall right out of my hands. 

“Hey settle down… we won’t hurt you.” 

“We both know that is not true! I just want to get back home!” This time I was screaming. The man on my left grabbed my hand before I could completely move away from him and pushed me to my knees. I gasped out as he tied my hands behind my back. 

“Stubborn little brat.” Someone muttered from the back, the man stood up, rubbing his cheek, he walked over and grabbed my chin harshly moving it to look at him. His green eyes reminded me of the grass that grew around the castle. His pupils shrunk making the green look even better. “You.” He let go of my chin and stepped back. I got a closer look at him and noticed that he had a familiar pair of broken and patched pants, the same white shirt, dirty face and curly hair as… 

“You were the one who escaped the dungeon, you were the prisoner they brought in yesterday!” 

“You’re the princess.” That got everyone’s attention, the men looked down at me with an emotion I had never seen before. None of them bowed before me, they all seemed to be looking at me with anger instead of honor. I bit my lip and struggled against the rope that kept me bound. 

“Now let go of me! Yes I am princess Lilia. So, since I have a higher rank than you people I command you to untie me this instant!” The laughing was not what I expected to hear, one after the other they started chuckling 

“Oh boy, Harry you really outdid yourself today saying the princess.” The one on the left chuckled, his dark hair seemed to be completely covered in a layer of dirt, he had blue eyes that resembled the sky and pale skin that seemed to contrast with the dark dirt on his arms. To my right another giggle escaped the man’s lips. He also had blue eyes but they were darker and resembled the pictures of the ocean Mimi had shown me, his brown hair was the cleanest out of all the lads, he held a dog by the leash that seemed to familiar. “That’s my dog!” 

“Excuse me?” The brown haired boy asked, he seemed to remember that he was holding the leash that held a white dog. Nix barked and squirmed, he finally let her go and she ran right towards me licking my face. “So they let you keep animals up there yeah?” I nodded my head slowly. “Interesting detail.” 

“What were you doing out of the castle and among us below people?” The man I kicked asked. The rope was now getting painful and I struggled against it making the pain get even worse. “Surely you are not worthy of being among us, and you sure do look nice in that night gown may I say.”  
I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes at his bad word usage. “I was on my way to the kingdom of Gilliam.” 

“Oh, isn’t that were the cart I robbed from was from? The one with the boy who looks like he can’t hit a ball?” 

“Prince Liam is not as weak as you paint him to be.” He knew I was lying but he just shook his head. 

“Well where is your mighty prince Liam at this moment?” He once again grabbed my chin and moved my face so I was looking at him straight in the eye. He licked his lips and lowered his head to my ear. “Has your prince charming forgotten about you?” He whispered, his voice was deep as the sea and raspy like he had been shouting for weeks. I bit my lip in attempt to keep the shivering under control. He grinned cheekily before pulling back to look at me. 

“Take me to the kingdom of Gilliam.” I wanted to slap myself over and over for stating something so stupid but the words had already been said. He looked at me with wide eyes. 

“You want me to take you all the way to Gilliam?” He asked seeming a bit distraught by my statement. I nodded slowly at him and hoped that he would take the offer. “Why in the world would I do that?” 

“Because…” I looked down at the floor to think of something intelligent to say. “Because it could get you money? They would pay a lot for finding a lost princess right? My family is supposed to hear about me when I get there, if they don’t they’ll be worried and send out an investigation. It wouldn’t be good for them to find me here surrounded by men would it now? But if you take me and get me there safely then you will receive a reward.”  
They pondered my words for some time. The leader tugged on the bottom of his shirt and ran his fingers through his curly, soft, touchable, beautiful… 

“Okay, if we do get you there you must guarantee me and my mates a load of coins. That and we will not receive dungeon time since we were the ones to rescue you.” I nodded my head quickly and moved my arms underneath my body and then in front of my chest. The men got the idea of what I was trying to do and cut the rope. Nix licked the burns on my wrists and growled at the men. 

“What are your names?” They all looked at each other before looking back at me. 

“My name’s Niall.” The one with the light blue eyes stated. He grabbed a bucket of water that was sitting on a shelf close to a leak on the roof. He leaned down and poured the water on his hair which turned out to be blonde. It was yellow and looked like the sun, he seemed to be a little ball of energy because after washing his face, the freckles started to appear and he started to laugh about how finding the princess was the funniest thing in the world. The other boy with blue eyes grabbed the bucket and washed his face with it, he looked like a little boy, he had more freckles than the blonde and his hair was just a light hazel color. 

“Louis.” He grinned, a grin that reminded me of an average thief, it was wide and his teeth were shaped like an animals. 

“Harry...” The leader shrugged. He washed his hair which turned out to be a dark shade of brown and ran his fingers over his face. Forcing myself to look away I distracted myself, playing with Nix’s fur. Harry kicked the bucket in front of me causing some of the water to spill on my lap. 

“Hey!” 

“Oh pardon me milady but do not expect us to treat you like royalty because down here you’re just another one of us.” I stood holding the serious look and grabbed the bucket pouring some of the water on my hair, that resulted in getting me soaked but I didn’t care I was not going to let him win. My black hair made it down to my lower back, it was drenched so it felt heavy but I chose to ignore it, my face and neck were full of dirt and other substances I did not want to know off. The three of them were staring at me but I refused to let it bother me, I pulled my hair up and used the ribbon Phoebe had given me to pull it up. Niall cleared his throat causing me to look at him. He motioned down towards his chest and I followed his movements and looked at mine. 

The water from the bucket had made the silk thinner than it already was and made it stick to my body. Harry and Louis’s eyes were glued to my chest and I couldn’t help but let out a shriek. They both blinked coming back to their senses and looked away, I quickly scrambled behind Nix and looked at them. 

“Do you have some spare clothes I could use? I must have misplaced my bag while I was attacked.” Harry nodded and walked into one of the stables, he came back with a shirt that looked big enough to fit a bear and a pair of pants that seemed to be his size. He didn’t even bother putting them in my hand, he just threw them like some sort of barbarian. I pulled the shirt over my head only for it to reach my lower thigh, the pants were a bit better since they had a string to make them tighter. I threw the nightgown on the floor and looked at it carefully. “You could sell it if you’d like, I have no use for it anymore.” They all looked dumbfounded and didn’t seem to understand what I had said. “Well, tomorrow we get going right?” Harry was the first to snap out of it and nodded. 

“Tomorrow we rise and shine early guys, we have to be heading out before dawn.” The other two boys nodded and walked to different stables, yawning and stretching. I looked at Harry and bit my lip before tapping his shoulder gently. 

“About yesterday, I apologize for not being able to stop those hits.” I didn’t know why I was apologizing because he did deserve them, but the fact that he was helping me made me felt bad for him. 

“Yeah sure I don’t care, I spend my time in your dungeon along with the other innocent people put in there.” He looked down at me with a hint of anger but almost full hatred. “Don’t think I’m helping you because you’re the princess, dear this is all for the money I couldn’t give a damn about your family and the rest of the royalty. If you get hurt I won’t show the minimum of pity because right now to me you are the scum.” He didn’t even let me answer because he turned on his heel and walked into one of the stables. I sighed once he was gone, sat back on the floor with Nix and closed my eyes. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates every monday


	4. chapter 4

Waking up early was both an advantage and disadvantage, I went out into the market with some money I had spare in my shoes and bought some materials for breakfast. Back at the castle I would sneak in to take some lessons on how to cook basic things. When I came back I got a very loud, very mean scold from Harry on how I was an idiot for going outside even though I wore a cover over my face. Niall was trying to calm him down by saying that I had brought supplies for breakfast which apparently they were lacking, that seemed to calm him down a bit because he ceased the screaming and sat down on the floor. 

I quickly went off to their very small kitchen and made what I could with the little things I bought, we ate some bread with cheese and some milk that I managed to get fresh. It was a good breakfast and the boys devoured it in seconds, Niall and Louis thanked me for gathering the food while Harry just brushed against my shoulder roughly making me stumble back. 

My dog had apparently made friends with the horses because she was sitting in the main stable with them barking and panting happily. Louis prepared the two claiming that those were the best horses in the whole universe and that they could get there in no time with them. Niall claimed his saying that the old horse had been his since he was a toddler. Harry attached the small carriage to the horses who whined but took some steps forward. Inside it wasn’t the most comfortable seat I had ever sat on but it would do for the situations given, Harry climbed in next to me giving me a cold shoulder, he once again brushed his shoulder against mine which was ridiculous since the man was a good foot taller than me, this time it was rough enough to send me to the floor which was not soft at all. Nix growled at him but I held her back from attacking, he looked down at me once again with that angry look in his face. We had already started moving but I hadn’t noticed since I was glaring daggers into the back of Harry’s head. He didn’t seem to notice which I was grateful for because if he did I would have had to face a very angry man. 

“Boss were coming up on bar territory hide the girl.” Niall called, slowing down the horses. Harry pressed his hand on my head and pushed it down so my forehead was against the wood floor. It smelled disgusting and splinters were starting to dig in. I winced and let out a short soft gasp of pain when I pressed my hand against a very large splinter. His big, calloused hand wrapped itself around my mouth, my head was beginning to swim from all the horrible smells that the floor had to offer. 

“Ah we were just passing by Phil it was good seeing you.” Louis’s voice called as we kept moving forward at a slow pace. After a couple of minutes Harry let go of me and glared back at me. 

“Do you not understand that you have to be quiet in these parts-. “ I cut him off before he could finish yelling at me like I was some sort of child. 

“You made me smell the dirty floor and stab myself with a splinter!” I moved my bloody hand up to prove it. “Now with all due respect Harry you are being an extremely rude lad and I will not stand for it any longer.” 

“It has been a day and they already hate each other.” I heard Niall mumble. 

“Oh you little twit, just because I don’t treat you like the people in the kingdom doesn’t mean I am being rude, you just get on my nerves thinking you’re all high and mighty-“ 

“I do not think of myself of as anything more than a human! I breath, I eat, I snore just like you boys do! I am sick and tired of you thinking that I believe that the ground I walk on is holy because it is not.” He seemed a bit confused by my outburst and sank back into his chair, he didn’t say a word after that, he just sat looking forward into the woods, and without even looking me in the eye   
The rest of the trip was silent until noon when we stopped by at a clearing that was close to a river. The splinter wound had dried up and stopped hurting as much. Louis climbed down from his horse talking (to himself?) about how the river had to end somewhere but explorers were too lazy to find out, he claimed that if he had enough money to adventure through the woods he would in a heartbeat. 

I decided since most of my body was still dirty I would go ahead and wash myself in the river, the boys were setting up a fire to cook I assumed so I left them a note on the makeshift seat and walked off. The river was easily two minutes away from where we were, it flowed gently and seemed to be pushed by the light summer air. Stripping off the clothes that were all too big made me feel refreshed and the moment I stepped in to the water I knew I was going to be there for a long time. It wasn’t ice cold neither was it too hot it was the perfect in between ad not even the castle people could prepare such a good water temperature. 

My hair and face had been a bit cleaner than the rest of my body so I didn’t give it that much attention, my arms and legs were full of grime and dirt which made me cringe when I washed it. I had never been so dirty in my life so this was a terrifying experience for me. I ducked my head under the water to wash my face when I suddenly saw to shadows on other side of the river. I was about to stand up to see who they were but two arms wrapped themselves around my neck causing me to squirm. He brought one to my stomach and pulled me over his shoulder before taking off running without my clothes into the small woods. Once he put me down I was prepared to yell at the stranger about his mother never teaching him how to treat a lady. 

“You have to be the stupidest person I have ever met in my entire life! You can’t leave our side you dumbass they will find you and they will take you away you don’t want to experience the same thing as in the bar do you now?” I could only shake my head in an attempt to answer him because no one had ever shouted at me for so long. “Un believable did they not teach you anything in the castle? You never leave your group without telling them, that would be idiotic of you and what do you do?” I was about to answer but he interrupted me. “Just that! Christ, you royals are the biggest idiots I have ever laid my eyes on and that’s coming from someone who was raised with no school. Everyone out there that lays hands on you, e very male that lays hands on you will try and rape you! Why? Because you’re a fragile looking girl with no defenses and you’re petite, as in I could rape you right now if I wanted to because you have no way of getting me off you.” His breathing was deep and harsh and even in this angry state I couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous he looked. Before those thoughts claimed control of my body, I spread the most serious face I could muster and stood straight. 

“I left and note on the chairs so if you did not see it you are the one that is held responsible because it was my duty to leave you the note clearly stating that I was going to bathe…” My voice betrayed me as I looked down suddenly remembering that my clothes were on the edge of the river waiting for me to pick them up. This is not something castle teachings prepared me for I decided to fall to the floor and bring my knees to my chest in an attempt to hide as much skin as I could. Harry rolled his eyes and did something I was not prepared for, he pulled the white shirt over his head mumbling about how it was dirty anyway and threw it my way. I held it in my hands for some time before actually pulling it over my head. It made it down to my thighs like the other one but that wasn’t the thing I noticed. The man before me was toned, as in he had abs that were perfectly shaped, his muscles were not big I knew he could pack a punch if he wanted to.   
Now the interesting part were his markings, tattoo like drawings on his side that caught my attention, one was the shape of a heart, but it had a thorn crown around it. The rest were shapes or words in another language I did not understand. A small one on his back really drew me in, it was the face of a fox, small and completely black. I didn’t know I was moving until I pressed my finger on the fox. His skin was warm and I couldn’t help but trace the shape of its face, ears and neck… 

“What the hell are you doing?” It wasn’t necessarily a scold if not a warning. 

“What does it mean?” I completely ignored the warning and got the punishment I deserved. His hand wrapped around my arm as he pushed me back against a tree, his breath was hot on my face and his eyes were burning into mine. 

“Do not touch them, or for that matter me.” I was expecting him to yell in my face and call me an idiotic royal again but it never came. He raised his other hand and I couldn’t help but flinch back into the tree. “Why did you?” 

“Don’t hurt me please I am sorry for touching you.” I blurted out, I didn’t want to look at him, my eyes narrowed on a small pebble on the floor. He looked at his hand then slowly lowered it putting it on my chin making me look at him. 

“I wouldn’t hurt you… you may be a pain in the ass right now but I was taught better than to lay hands on a woman.” He was talking slowly as if it was hard for me to understand, I nodded quickly and moved my hand away from his grip and behind my back. 

“Thank you for the shirt Harry.” I mumbled walking back to the camp site Louis and Niall had made. The blonde was sitting on the chair moving a spoon over a mixture that didn’t seem to pleasant. 

“It’s better than it looks, Niall makes good food most of the time.” Louis stated from the back of the cart, he sat with his legs crossed and with Nix across his lap. I decided that taking his word for it and sat down next to the fire. It radiated a sweet heat that was good enough to take a nap. I didn’t remember Niall saying anything, neither do I remember leaning on the log, what I do remember was closing my eyes and letting the warm fire air take over.


	5. Chapter 5

I was uncomfortable, there was simply no other way to describe it, I felt my legs crammed and my back was not straight like it should be which worried me and caused me to open my eyes. Harry was laid sprawled on the floor next to me, his hands were in my hair and my feet were partially on his torso. Blinking was the only way I could get my eyes to focus on my surroundings, we were inside of the cart which was a relief, it was moving because every time the horses would speed up my head would slam against the floor. Gently and carefully I untangled the green eyes man’s fingers from my black hair and sat up rubbing my forehead. 

“Oh good you’re awake princess!” A perky voice called from the front, Niall was sitting on his black horse (Dots as he claimed it was called), his hair was as messy as always but at least it was clean. 

“What happened last night? I just barely remember falling asleep by the fire and that’s it.” 

“Well that is exactly what happened, you fell asleep so we decided to eat up and wait for you to wake up but you never did, Harry carried you into the cart claiming that he wanted to get some rest too so we assumed you two wanted privacy.” 

“Oh not at all I woke up and he was also sleeping.” 

“I’m awake now.” His voice was deeper than usual and I held myself back from looking at him. “My, oh my princess you sure do move a lot in your sleep.” I turned my back completely towards the sound of his voice and crossed my hands over my chest. He was looking at me but I wasn't sure if it was my face or at Niall who was resting his head on my shoulder. I smiled at the blond and kissed his cheek before pulling back and sitting on the small bench. Louis seemed to be focus on staring ahead without even bothering to look back. Niall climbed back on his horse and patted her hair leaving me alone with Harry. He looked down at me then back up leaning over and taking in a deep breath. 

His veins were popping out with each deep breath he took and every time it made me want to reach over and trace them. I just entwined my fingers together tightly to the point that my nails were digging into my palms. I could basically see myself drifting off into my own little land in the depths of my brain when a loud booming sound brought me back. 

“Are you even here?” Harry’s voice filled my ears. I looked up just to see his face way to close to mine. 

“Yes!” It was not very lady like of me to scream but he just leaned back. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at me like I was some sort of weirdo. “So…” I tapped my finger on the wood before reaching over and grabbing the piece of paper that laid on the chair. Before he could even understand what I was doing I shoved the paper in his face, grinning from ear to ear. “I told you I had left a note for you to read! You are the stupid one this time Harry I left this lovely pink paper here in plain sight for you to read once you saw that I wasn't here and you chose to ignore it!” I couldn't see his face behind the paper but I had the feeling that his face was red and it wasn't in anger this time. He pulled my hand down and took the paper with his other hand, he stared at it for too long before handing it back to be me, keeping quiet. 

“Yeah sure...” He sat down on the bench and looked up but he wasn't looking at my face he was just focused on the small note on my lap. “I guess you were dumb for leaving it inside instead of somewhere visible.” He shrugged then began to twist a ring between his fingers. 

This time instead of arguing with him I focused on the gold thin band that hugged his finger. I had clearly seen it before but I couldn't really put my finger on it. The longer I stared at it the more familiar it seemed the more I wanted to ask him where he got it. A tiny light seemed to turn on inside of my head and before I knew what was happening I was flailing myself at him. Normally I had full control of what my body did but this time I just lunged forward grabbing his hands and trying to get that ring out of his hands. He yelled a curse as he went down against the floor making the carriage shake. My knees hit the floor between his legs causing me to grit my teeth but I didn't care because I just wanted to grab that damn thing. His hands were stronger than I expected and he grabbed my wrist tightly. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” He screamed trying to shove me back. I just pushed myself against him harder and finally managed to pull my hand out of his grip slapping the ring out of his hands, towards the corner of the cart. I scrambled over his body kicking him again in a spot I shouldn't have which caused him to yell in pain. I grabbed the ring and pressed it to my chest before slowing turning to look back at Harry. He was kneeling down and holding his lower half tightly almost red with pain. I leaned against the wall and tried to keep the fear out of my eyes. 

“I, you, you took my ring.” I silently scolded at myself for stuttering and kept trying to glue myself to the wall, around me the carriage seemed to get smaller and more compressed. He stood up and almost hit his head against the roof. The look in his eyes wasn't even full of anger it was full of pure hatred. He took a step forward to me and I just clutched the golden band close to my chest and closed my eyes. 

“You little bi-“Before he could start cussing me out Niall yelled something back that only Harry could understand. He got too close for my liking and pressed his forehead to the wall. “Shut up and follow my lead.” 

I was about to kick him again when he let out a hard loud moan. My knees went weak under me and I couldn't even think straight. He didn't move away from me and banged his hand against the wall behind me causing me to flinch away from him. His glare intensified and I couldn't even see him completely. 

“Jesus!” He yelled out but it didn't sound like he was mad, my fingers gripped his shirt and pulled him closer, shaking. 

“W-what are you doing?” I stuttered, he didn't even blink at me twice, I felt a shift on the door and he grabbed my waist tightly pushing his hips closer to mine. I bit my lip harshly and pressed my hands to his chest trying to push him off. “Get of m-me!” The stutter didn't help and I continued to keep my distance from him. His next moves were slow and I was almost knocked off my feet when he dipped his head down and started kissing my neck. Almost instantly my body shut down, I couldn't even say a simple word, the stuttering became worse but I myself didn't even know what my brain was trying to say. One move he made sent me over the edge and caused me to whimper almost to the point of a loud moan that seemed to catch his attention. He kept his head deep against the nape of my neck and sighed breathily into it. I was shaking, and there was no way that I could stop because at that moment I had no control over my body. I could hear Niall talking about something, not that I understood, Harry clearly did so he looked at me and grinned. 

I was about to think of a genius insult, or a stuck up comment that would wipe that grin of his face but before I could he turned on his heel and walked over to the front of the carriage, opening the curtains and stating something at Niall. The shaking seized and I slumped down the wall holding my knees up to my chest, from the outside I could hear Nix’s barks off glee. She was the only thing I had left to remind me of home and she was slowly turning into a normal, rowdy dog instead of the delicate pup she used to be. Rolling my eyes at myself I decided that the sweet princess act was not getting me anywhere and that if Harry thought he could play me like that he was wildly mistaken, I mean it didn't even feel good. 

The hours passed by like seconds and we were parked besides a big tree. I peeked out the curtains and examined my surroundings, the tree was full of beautiful blue flowers that seemed to shine with the light of the moon. I didn't notice the boys staring at me while I climbed out of the carriage and looked up at the blossoms. I couldn't help but grin as I tried to reach up for one of them, they were clearly higher up and my tiny hops would get me nowhere. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and looked over at Niall. He had a cheeky smile covering those cute pink lips, he gently opened his palm and showed me the small blue flower than was on his hand. 

“How’d you get that?” I asked, honestly curious on how the boy was able to climb up so high. He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal but the twinkle in his eyes proved otherwise. 

“Back at home there was no way to get grub at home so I just went and got food by climbing the apple trees and scrambling all over the roof tops.” He laughed and it sounded like the laughter of an angel. I couldn't help but focus on how his eyes sparkled when he mentioned climbing and how he seemed to be really happy when he spoke about his adventures. I held the blossomed flower close to my chest and listened to him as he kept saying that climbing trees was one of the funnest hobbies in the world and that he could do it for days. “Want to learn?” I was sort of zoned out when he asked so I just nodded to be polite. 

Niall jumped and grabbed on to a branch easily, he looked down at me, biting his lips, he leaned down and grabbed my waist pulling me up on to the branch. I shrieked in fear as I lost contact with the ground and was sat on something soft. My first instinct was to grab on to the boy which resulted in us almost tumbling off. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly and my legs around his waist. I could feel his chest rumble with laughter but I was too scared to open my eyes. 

“Hey its fine, I’m not going to let you fall okay?” Slowly I opened my eyes and blinked at him. His face was red and resembled a tomato, I carefully began to untangle myself from him. He leaned back and swung his legs over the branch, grinning. I was trying to stop myself from shaking but there was simply no way, I was way too high up and I didn't feel safe at all.  
The blonde boy grabbed my hand and stood up on the branch smiling, I shakily moved my left leg and stood up slowly. I didn't trust the branch so I ended up wrapping my arms around his waist tightly. He was smiling and there wasn't much I could do but smile back, Niall’s long legs easily and expertly managed their way through the branches and his hands grabbed on to the trunk. His blond hair was moving behind him and I just wanted to tangle my fingers in it, it looked so soft. 

“From one to ten, how mad would you be if I took you to the top of this tree?” I could literally see the mischievous grin in his words, before I had a complete answer my arm was being tugged harshly and my body left the safety of the branch. Niall kept jumping and climbing with me stumbling behind him, the sound of his laughter seemed to jump from the leaves and echo through the flowers. The higher we went the bigger the blossoms would get, with one big pull the blond boy tugged me onto the top branch. Cerulean eyes met mine and I couldn't help but give him a goofy smile. Niall looked up at the sky and began to point at different stars. “This girl back home, she used to tell me that each star represents someone you saw, or someone you talked to or heard. That’s why their so many of them, you hear so many things, see lots of people and talk to absolutely everything.” 

The explanation was different for the ones I've heard before but it was one of the most interesting. “What about the falling stars?” 

His eyes were glossy and I could tell that he was deep in thought. “She says its someone you know dying, I always said that it was too harsh so we just started saying that every time you see a falling star, its because one person, one person you've seen, talked or heard talk is thinking about you.” No matter how fake it sounded I couldn't help but just wonder if it was true. The way he said it made me feel like it was one hundred percent reality and that maybe just maybe those stars actually did represent real people. 

We sat together talking about the flowers, stars and about the girl back home he mentioned. Her name was Sally and apparently she was a family friend of his, the way he explained her physically just instantly told me that he had a thing for her. 

“She sounds beautiful...” I whispered, I was hoping that he would hear me so he could continue. 

“Oh boy she is, gorgeous, her eyes are so blue and her hair so long and…” 

“Her smile?” I couldn’t stop the grin that was spreading across my face. 

“It shines like a million pearls!” Punching his shoulder lightly I smiled and nodded at him  
.  
“Why haven’t you taken her out, like on an outing?” 

“Outing?” 

“Oh, gosh sorry, um a date is it what you call it? Taking the girl out for dinner, a picnic anything simple.” He nodded and scratched his chin gently. 

“Well, I never really thought about it, but it could definitely be a good idea.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist, I leaned on his shoulder and closed my eyes listening to the wind hit the leaves and the branches hit each other. I was having the actual first peaceful minutes until a stupid shout brought me out of my rest. 

“Hey lovers why don’t you come down here for dinner!” Harry’s voice echoed through the three. I stopped myself from groaning and stood up, fixing my shirt and pants. Niall giggled as it were the funniest thing in the world that his ‘boss’ was mad at him. 

With the blonde's help I made it down the tree and landed gently on the ground. Harry was glaring at me and Niall but I wasn't sure why. He gruffly grabbed a log and moved it besides the fire that I imagined Louis had made. He was sitting on the edge of the carriage swimming hi legs back and forth. Nix was barking at something in the dark that clearly only she could see. I sat on the floor next to Harry and enjoyed the peaceful and comfortable silence that took over before the green eyed bandit ruined it. 

“Oh and remember what I said when I met you? That I could just tell that you had never been touched before…” He licked his lips and I could feel his hot breath on my neck. “I was right wasn't I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so so sorry for not updating yesterday


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